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Passion Week in Rome 



Fifty Years Ago. 



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By the late Philip Schaff. 



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" 1be is not bere, 1be is risen from tbe oeao." 

This description of the august ceremonies clus- 
tering around Easter in Rome will be a reminder 
of the Writer at this Easter tide a half century after 
it was written. It is taken from Dr. Philip Schaff's 
Journal of a sojourn in Rome during the Winter 
and Spring of 1842. Dr. Schaff was at the time 
twenty-three years old, and acting as tutor to a young 
Prussian nobleman. The original is in fine German 
characters which Dr. Schaff found it difficult to de- 
cipher on his last visit in Rome in 1890. 

Extracts from Dr. Schaff's Journal have been ap- 
pearing in The Homiletic Review from which this 
is also republished. D. S. Schaff. 



I 3SO%r 

'04. 



PASSION WEEK IN ROME 
FIFTY YEARS AGO. 



BY THE LATE 

PROFESSOR PHILIP SCHAFF, D.D., LL.D. 



March 20, 1842 (Palm Sunday). — At eight o'clock I preached on 
the Crucifixion. I spoke of the process of the Crucifixion which must 
go on in the heart, and which is followed by the resurrection and true 
life in God. 

After the service go to St. Peter's to see the festivities. The pope 
approached his throne, wearing a bishop's cap and in splendid violet 
vestments. After kneeling and offering a short prayer, he sat down 
on the throne. Cardinals came up to him in procession to kiss his 
hand. The distribution of the palm branches prepared by Camal- 
dulian monks — a beautiful custom. After the distribution the pope 
arose,uttered the Dominus vobiscum (The Lord be with you)* and offered 
a brief prayer, to which there was choral response. Then began the 
procession. The pope, with the bishop's cap on and the palm in his 
hand, is carried under the red baldachin by twelve persons and followed 
by a great company of clergy. Then came the Passion music, Psalms, 
" Stabat mater," etc., and last the mass, which this time Cardinal Prince 
Schwarzenberg celebrated. The whole service makes an impression 
of the decided worldliness of the Catholic Church. It appeals to the 
senses and the imagination, which it esteems too highly. It is a 
drama. A plain pungent sermon on the atoning sufferings and 
death of Christ would be of much more worth than all this gay and 
perishable pomp. 

March 23. — Already at two o'clock the crush was terrible on the 
steps leading to the palace of the Vatican. We were not admitted to 
the Sixtina Chapel (Sistine) till half -past three, and there we had to 
wait another hour before the singing began. I occupied the time 
studying with great wonder the picture of Michael Angelo of the " Last 
Judgment," into which, with amazing pictorial power, he has poured 
the immortal creation of his genius. On the altar were six yellow 
tapers burning, as there were also on the railing, and fifteen on the 
arch. The number fourteen represents the fourteen weeks in which 

*The renderings of Latin phrases are by the translator of Dr. Schaff's Jour- 
nal.— D. S. S. 



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Rome Fifty Vears Ago — Passion Week. 

the sun advances and recedes, and the fifteenth the sun itself. They 
were all gradually put out, which is meant to represent the going to 
sleep of the disciples at the Passion of our divine Lord and their neg- 
lect of Him. The music is called the Matutino delle Tenebre or Offizio 
Notturno (nocturnal service) , because the ancient Church sang it on the 
night preceding this day and the two following nights. A number 
of Psalms, three of Jeremiah's Lamentations, and parts of the history 
of the Passion are also used. These are followed by the Miserere, by 
the present chapelmaster, Baini. During the Miserere the cardinals 
and the pope kneel and pray in low tone : Eespice qucesumus, Domine 
(Look upon us, we beseech Thee, Lord) ; and at the close a noise is 
heard in imitation of the noise the Jews made at the reading of Esther, 
where the name of Haman occurs, and represents the clashing of arms 
carried by the guard led by Judas, or the confusion of the earthquake 
and the rending of the veil in the temple (so Moroni) and the opening 
of the tombs at the Crucifixion. After this noise, the service is at an 
end, and all go quietly out. 

In the evening I visited the small Church of Caravita, near the 
Collegio Eomano, to witness the scourging scene, which is enacted 
three times a week during the whole of Lent, and takes place at seven 
o'clock. First, priests recited the story of the Passion. Then they 
put out all the lights and shut all the doors. A chorister boy went 
around offering whips, which consist of two pretty thick thongs. 
Then, in this mysterious darkness, in this unbroken silence, a priest 
went to the altar and delivered an impassioned but short sermon about 
Judas, painting him in dark colors, and declaring that his hearers 
were still worse than was the faithless disciple, and that they had often 
betrayed the Lord by thoughts and words. But continuing, he said 
so can and must it not continue. We must all drive out of our hearts 
this traitorous Judas spirit. " Ye who are burdened with sins, drive 
out Judas!" thus he cried out in a loud voice, and at once all fell to 
whipping themselves lustily. In the midst of the noisy procedure, 
the priest began to pray a penitent prayer, " Saviour, Saviour, have 
mercy upon us!" After the scourging, which lasted a short quarter 
of an hour, the lights were lit again and the litany was sung. The 
whole scene makes a deep impression. The poor people, mostly from 
the lowest class, that scourge themselves are certainly not the worst 
offenders in this Babylon. The whole service, indicating the heart's 
discontent with itself and its longing after purity and the death of the 
old nature, represents what the Protestant doctrine of justification 
stands for. 

March 24.— "Went to-day to the Sixtina. From eight o'clock 
on, a throng of equipages, among which the carriages of the cardinals, 
ornamented with gold, stand out, and a mass of people on foot, of all 
nations, pass over the Bridge St. Angelo to the Vatican — all in black 
and curious to see the spectacle about to be offered to strangers, for 



Rente Fifty Years Ago^~Passion Week. 

the Romans care less for it than they. He who wants to be edified 
must go to some other church and not to the Sistine Chapel and St. 
Peter's, for pious thought is made impossible by this distraction, 
arising from the great circumstance and commotion, the varied aspect 
of the foreigners, the numbers of noble and beautiful women, and the 
appearance of the noble and Swiss Guards, the latter being in armor 
on Good Friday and Sunday. It is a parade for the world of beauty 
and distinction, a spectacle for eager and curious visitors from abroad, 
fond of the world's vanity and glitter, as they are displayed, though 
in greater measure, in the theater. While the house of God offers to 
all men without distinction equal rights and privileges, all honors are 
set aside, and all are regarded as equally sinners needing mercy ; here 
splendid balconies and platforms are erected for kings and princes, 
and, if one is an ambassador or wears an order, he receives sitting 
place. The people that have not means must stand in the outer 
court. No wonder the Eoman only cares for the benediction of the 
pope, and during the splendid exercises in the papal chapel on Thurs- 
day and Good Friday carries on his usual business and for a while 
retires to a small church for edification. Among the princely person- 
ages we have seen are Princes Wilhelm and Friedrich of Prussia, the 
two sons of Don Carlos, and Prince Luitpold of Bavaria. 

I now begin to describe the varied festivities of the day : 

First— The mass accompanied by song, the Gloria in excelsis of 
the Introitus, accompanied by the ringing of bells ; then all the bells are 
silent for fifty hours till the hour of the Resurrection (midnight, Sat- 
urday). Before the elevation of the host twelve bussolanti enter with 
lighted candles from the sacristy to kneel at the altar. Two wafers 
are then consecrated by the officiating cardinal, who eats one of them, 
the other being kept for the next day and put in a golden chalice, 
where it remains on the altar till the processional, and is called calice 
del sepolcro (chalice of the tomb). After the elevation lights are 
distributed to the cardinals, patriarchs, bishops, and prelates. The 
office of the mass goes on till the Deo gratias. 

Second — Processional for the burial of the host through the Sala 
Regia, where formerly ambassadors were received, which accounts for 
the frescos which depict the power of the pope, viz., the donation 
of Italian lands to the pope, the pope releasing Henry IV. and Freder- 
ick I. from the ban, and Frederick II. ; the return of Gregory XI. from 
Arignon ; the destruction of the Turks at Tunis and Lepanto, and St. 
Bartholomew's night. The processional moves along in the chapel of 
Paul III. amid the singing of Pange lingua gloriosi corporis mys- 
terium (Sing, my tongue, the mystery of the glorious body) . The pope 
carries the consecrated chalice and, arrived at the altar of Paulina, 
gives it to the cardinal deacon and he to the prelate sacristan, who 
puts it into the mortuary urn and locks it up. 

Third — The dispensation of the blessing from the St. Peter's Log- 



Rome Fifty Years Ago — Passion Week. 

gia. The large balcony in the middle of the facade of St. Peter's 
Cathedral is covered with a red carpet, a large sailcloth being 
drawn over it as protection against the sun. The pope is borne 
thither on the Sedia Gestatoria, and remains sitting upon it while he 
pronounces the Indulgentiam dbsolutionem omnium peccatorum ves- 
trorum spatium verce et fructuosce pomitentice cor semper pcenitens et 
emendationem vitce gratiam et consolationem Sancti Spiritus et finalem 
per sever antiam in bonis operihus tribuat vobis omnipotens et misericors 
Dominus (The Lord, almighty and merciful, grant unto you indulg- 
ence, absolution of all your sins, time of true and fruitful repentance, 
a heart always penitent, and amendment of life, the grace and con- 
solation of the Holy Spirit, and final perseverance in good works) , to 
which the singers answered " Amen. " Thereupon the pope, rising from 
his seat and directing his eyes to heaven, stretches out his hands and 
gives the blessing as he three times makes the sign of the cross and 
says : M benedictio Dei omnipotentis Patris, et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti 
descendat super vos et maneat semper (And the benediction of God, 
the Father Almighty, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit descend 
upon you and remain always), whereupon the choir answers with 
11 Amen. " The pope seats himself and the two cardinal deacons read, 
the one in Italian, the other in Latin, the formula of the Indulgentia 
plenaria, which the pope gives to those present, and then they throw 
down the two formulas which they have just read into the crowd, 
which eagerly struggles to get them, while the cardinals look down 
over the balcony at the struggling people with a smile. Then the 
pope rises, pronounces a simple benediction, and is carried away, and 
the festivity is at an end. Up to the time of Clement XIV. the 
reading of the bull In Ccena Domini preceded the benediction. 

Fourth — The foot-washing of the apostles in St. Peter's on the right 
hand of the baldachin on a carpet, placed there for the occasion, in 
which is worked the " Last Supper" of Da Vinci, and over against the 
balcony erected for the princes and occupied to-day by the Prussian 
princes and the sons of Don Carlos. The apostles, by rights, ought to 
be leading clericals of different lands who have made pilgrimages to 
Rome for the Holy Week. But they choose such foreign clericals as 
are stationed in Eome, and for a number of years they are said to 
have been the same ones. The reason for the number being thirteen 
instead of twelve is that when Gregory the Great fed twelve poor peo- 
ple on the Coelius Hill an angel was found in their midst. So runs 
the legend. They are dressed in white. As soon as the pope as- 
cends his throne the account of the foot- washing (John xiii.) is sung. 
Then the pope kisses the carpet, girds himself with an apron, and on 
his knees washes one apostle's feet after the other in a golden 
basin, dries with a towel, and kisses them. With this act of humility is 
greatly contrasted the service of two chamberlains, who carry the 
pope's falda, as well as the elegance of the washing apparatus. 



Rome Fifty Years Ago — Passion Week. 

Each of the apostles receives a beautiful bunch of flowers and two 
medals, the one of silver and the other of gold, as mementoes of the 
honor placed upon them. 

Fifth — The meal of the apostles in a room near the Capella Paulina, 
in memory of our Lord's last supper with his disciples. The crush 
was so great that the perspiration soon began running down my face. 
The table was adorned with flowers in gold and silver vases. As the 
pope arrives, the apostles (the same parties whose feet have been 
washed) fall on their knees. The pope blesses the table. A chap- 
lain reads the passages of Scripture bearing upon the feast. The pope 
then serves one after the other and as many times as there are dishes, 
also giving to them several times wine, which he pours into a beauti- 
ful goblet. Each of the dishes and the flagon of wine are handed to the 
pope by a prelate in kneeling posture. As in the foot-washing, so 
here the value of the vessels and the circumstance of the service are 
in great contrast to the humility and simplicity of the beautiful 
event which it is designed to commemorate. 

Sixth — Service on Good Friday in the Sistine Chapel from four to 
six, as yesterday. First, the Lamentations of Jeremiah by four voices, 
by Palestrina. How wof ul are these pining notes ! How deep these 
sighs from the distant city of the King ! They express the birthpains 
of the advent. " Oh, all ye who have gone your own way, stand still 
and see whether there be any sorrow like unto mine, for the Lord 
hath filled me full of sorrow, as He promised in the day of His wrath." 
Wonderfully moving is the pathetic prayer, " Convertere ad Domi- 
nion" (Turn to the Lord) . The agony and the suffering of the dying 
Saviour seems to repeat itself through the sounds, " As a lamb was He 
taken to the slaughter, and He opened not His mouth." Pity, sorrow, 
longing, aspiration, devotion, thankfulness, in turn, fill the soul in 
listening to the splendid strength and depth of the tones. After 
this various other parts of the history of the Advent and Passion were 
said as they are prescribed in the Eoman Breviary, followed at last by 
a Miserere. This pierced and lifted the soul so powerfully, so deeply 
awakened the sense of sin, and so stirred up fervent sadness and deep- 
est consecration, that it will always remain in my memory. After 
the Miserere, a short prayer and a noise like yesterday's and the ser- 
vice was ended. 

Seventh — In the evening at half -past seven, I saw the ceremony of 
the foot-washing and feeding of the Catholic pilgrims, which occurs 
on Wednesday, Thursday, and Saturday evenings of Holy Week, and 
dates from St. Philip Neri, 1548. A very pleasant custom. There 
is for the female pilgrims a distinct apartment, to which only women 
are admitted. The pilgrims, carrying a certificate from their bishop 
that they had come to Rome to worship, are taken care of three days 
near the Trinita des Pellegrini and their feet are washed once. I 
was much pleased with the place and the custom. Before the foot- 



Rome Fifty Years Ago — Passion Week. 

washing a brief sermon was addressed to the pilgrims, in which the 
love of Christ was set forth especially as it was shown the last night 
of His life. Then began the foot-washing. One hundred and sixty 
pilgrims were present. There were also sixty women, I was told. 
The pertinent passage from the Fourth Gospel was read, and some 
prayers said by Cardinal Prince von Schwarzenberg. Any Catho- 
lic layman or cleric can assist at this ceremony. He only has to an- 
nounce his intention beforehand and inscribe his name in the book 
of the brotherhood {confratelli) and wear a red coat. The pilgrims 
sit round the room against the wall, each with a basin in front of 
him. The confratello draws off the pilgrim's shoes and stockings, 
washes his feet, dries and kisses them. The last is not always done. 
Among those who this evening performed this service were Cardinals 
Schwarzenberg and Corsi, and the two sons of Don Carlos and several 
other aristocratic personages. I was told that at the foot-washing of 
the women some ladies of the highest family took part, including a 
princess. The names of those who take part in this service are en- 
graved on marble slabs on the walls of the wide halls, together with the 
sums they contribute. Among the names is Christina of Sweden, 
who contributed to the establishment 1600 scudi. After the foot- 
washing, the pilgrims and the confratelli passed into a large hall. 
After prayer they were treated to a very simple, yet very good and 
abundant, meal and refreshed with wine. It is very interesting to 
go up to different pilgrims and to watch their faces under the influ- 
ence of the distinction shown them by personages of high birth. One 
eats with great appetite, forgetful of the surroundings; another is full 
of humility and thankfulness; a third looks as quiet and undisturbed 
as if he were sitting in his own house. The one eats properly; the 
other with his fingers, in the way to which he has been accustomed, 
and letting spoon and fork rest where they were first put. After so 
much standing and listening to-day, I return home fagged out and 
longing for rest. 

Good Friday, 25th. — I went at eight o'clock to the Protestant 
service in the chapel of the embassy.* Strengthened and refreshed, I 
started out for the Sistine Chapel. The services: 

First — Different from yesterday, the lights are lit in the chapel and 
on the altar is a white linen cloth, and the pope comes himself to dis- 
pense the blessing. The mass (Messa del Presantificate) begins with 
the singing of Isaiah's prophecies and passages from Exodus. After 
this three singers sing from John xviii., xix. Christ's seizure, Peter's 
denial, the hearing before Annas, Caiaphas, and Pilate ; the scourging 
and crowning with thorns, the Ecce Homo (Behold the Man), and 
Crucifige (Crucify Him), the condemnation and crucifixion, the taking 
leave of Mary, and other scenes pass before you like a drama. Not 
only does the ear hear, but the eye sees as well, until at the words Et 

*The Prussian embassy. 



Rome Fifty Years Ago — Passion Week. 

inclinato capite emisit spiritum (He bowed His Head and gave up the 
ghost) , the pope and all others fall on their knees, when follows the 
recital of the account of the lance-thrust and the rest of the story. 

Second — A Latin sermon on the death of the Saviour. Then the 
officiating priest repeats the eighteen prayers for the Church, the 
pope, the clergy, the faithful, the emperor, the empress, for catechu- 
mens and all mankind, for the Jews, heathen, heretics — in short, for 
every creature of God. 

Third — The Adoration of the cross. The priest disrobes himself of 
his missal robes, proceeds to the altar, and receives from the deacon the 
crucifix veiled in black. Then turning to the people, presenting the 
crucifix to those on the left, the right, and in the center, he gradually 
removes the veil as he intones three times Ecce lignum cruris (Be- 
hold the wood of the cross) , to which two tenors reply, In quo salus 
(In which is our redemption), followed by the entire choir singing 
Venite adoremus (Come, let us worship) . The priest places the crucifix 
on the altar, the pope draws near and kneels and adores it. Then is 
sung the celebrated Improperia of Palestrina — complaints of Christ to 
His ungrateful people. At the close of each is sung the " Glory to 
God" of the angels, three times repeated, and responses by the choir. 

First Voice — "0 people, My people, what did I unto thee, and 
wherein did I give thee pain? Answer Me." 

Second Voice — " Is it because I led thee out of the land of Egypt 
that thou layest thy Lord and Saviour on the cross?" 

Eesponses by two choirs in Latin and Greek — "Holy God, holy 
and immortal One, have mercy on us." 

First Voice — " I put unto thy hand a royal scepter, and thou gavest 
a crown of thorns." 

Second Voice — " I lifted thee up with great might, and thou didst 
hang Me upon the bitter wood of the cross." 

Both Choirs — " people, My people, what did I unto thee, or did 
I give thee pain? Answer Me." 

During the singing the pope adores the cross three times, casting 
one hundred gold pieces into a gold vessel. He then returns to his 
throne. Then the cardinals and clergy go, two by two, with bare feet, 
and adore the cross, each casting in a gold piece. The Improprie being 
completed, prayers are said, and at last the hymn of Bishop Venan- 
tius Fortunatus of Poitiers praising the cross — Pange lingua gloriosi 
lauream certaminis (Sing, my tongue, the wreath of the glorious 
battle) . After the adoration the tapers are lighted, and the deacon 
places the crucifix upon the altar. Then begins — 

Fourth — The processional to the Pauline chapel to bring back the 
host which had been buried. The pope arrives at the altar, falls on 
his knees, adoring the host; the sacristan takes the host out of the 
urn, gives it to a cardinal, who at once gives it to the pope. He then 
carries it with the baldachin to the Sistine Chapel, and while this is 



Rome Fifty Years Ago — Passion Week. 

going on the hymn is sung, Vexilla regis prodeunt. Then the mass 
is finished at the altar, the host is consecrated, and at last the vesper 
psalms are sung, which close with the Christus /actus est and the 
prayer Respice. 

To-day in the Sixtina the holy relics of the cross, kept in a golden 
vessel, are displayed upon the altar, which were given in the fifth cen- 
tury to Leo the Great by Juvenal, bishop of Jerusalem. All the treas- 
ures of the Vatican are exposed to view all day, and I had the great 
pleasure of seeing them with the Hanoverian ambassador, Kessner. 

Fifth — The matutinal service, which, like the former ones, by right 
ought to be sung in the night, but for the sake of convenience are 
put in the evening before. For this reason the resurrection is cele- 
brated at twelve Saturday night. For the third time there is a con- 
fused noise of loud sounds. We heard the most celebrated of the 
masses, which Mozart, after hearing twice, reproduced. 

Sixth — After the Miserere, and about six o'clock, the clergy proceed 
to St. Peter's to adore the holy relics. The pope falls upon his knees 
and is followed by the rest of the clergy, and all pray while the holy 
relics are shown near the statue of St. Veronica — viz., the lance, the 
handkerchief, and a piece of the cross— all contained in silver and 
gold frames and adorned with precious stones. 

March 26 — The Kesurrection is celebrated in all the churches. 
In the Sixtina, the mass of Pope Marcellus prepared for Easter, 1555, 
is used and the litany sung. After the Kyrie eleison (Lord, have 
mercy on us) , the thrilling Gloria in excelsis was sung, and during 
the singing the curtain was rolled up from in front of the picture of 
the risen Christ and then the bells rang out, cannons of St. Angelo 
boomed, and the trumpeters sounded in the Sala regia. Went to the 
Lateran, where, in the baptistry of Constantine, the Jews who wanted 
to pass over to Catholicism were baptized by Cardinal Patrizi. This 
time there were three, two of them men. They were then confirmed 
in the Lateran. 

Easter, 27th — Attend church at the chapel of the embassy, where, 
to my regret, I hear no sermon on the Kesurrection. I go to St. Peter's, 
where the festivities occur, and the mass is celebrated with much pomp 
by the pope. Before eight o'clock the papal dragoons and guards have 
occupied the St. Angelo Bridge and the street as far as St. Peter's 
Square, to preserve order, and city police are drawn up on each side 
of the nave of St. Peter's Church as far as the Tribune, and around it 
are the Swiss guards in armor. The pope passes down the stair- 
way of Bernini and through the royal chamber to the equestrian 
statue of Constantine, behind a long line of generals of orders, chap- 
lains, chamberlains, papal singers, confessors of St. Peter's, deacons, 
abbots, bishops, archbishops, patriarchs, cardinals, and the governor 
of the city. Then the pope is carried on his throne by twelve cham- 
berlains through the portico and chief passage to St. Peter's, and be- 



Rome Fifty Years Ago — Passion Week. 

hind him are carried two peacock fans, to represent perhaps sun and 
moon, or emperor and empire, with the picture of the vicar of Christ 
between them. The singers at his entrance into the church start to 
sing Tu es Petrus. The church is packed full. The throng of country 
folk, in part in picturesque clothing aud in part in torn and tattered 
garments that hardly cover their bodies, have streamed here to receive 
the papal blessing and see the sights. They push about in the church 
and crowd to get at the statue of St. Peter and kiss his right toe. On 
this occasion two thrones have been erected for the pope. On each side 
of the baldachin there sit a large number of fine-looking women and 
richly dressed young men, who do not exercise much of the spirit of de- 
votion — Englishmen, Germans, Frenchmen, and Eomans among them. 

As soon as the pope ascends the throne on the right side of the 
baldachin he receives the homage of cardinals and patriarchs, bish- 
ops, archbishops, abbots, confessors of St. Peter's, who kiss his feet 
and bend three times on their knees. Then song and prayers. The 
pope then proceeds to the great throne. The altar is bathed in in- 
cense. The Gloria is sung, the Epistle, the Gospel, and the Credo — 
then the tedious preparation for the mass itself : the carrying to and fro 
and around of the vessels, which are very elegant (the cup only being 
used when the pope says mass and said to be worth 80,000 scudi). 
Censers are swung and the Sanctus sung ; consecration and elevation 
of the host by the pope. Communion by the pope, the cardinal dea- 
con, Latin subdeacon and cardinal deacons and noble laymen. Then 
recitation of the Confiteor and communion of cardinals. Completion 
of the mass. The distribution of the papal blessing from the altar. 

A presbyter gives to the pope thirty gold pieces pro missa bene 
cantata (for the mass, well sung) which he hands to a cardinal, he to 
a servant, and he to the chapter of St. Peter's. Adoration of relics, 
and finally the benediction from the balcony of St. Peter's. The bene- 
diction is longer than on Thursday. The formula is this : 

Sancti apostoli Petrus et Paulus de quorum potestate et auctoritate 
confidemus ipsi inter cedant pro nobis ad Dominum, Amen. Precibus 
et meritis benedicti Maria semper virginis, benedicti Michaelis arch- 
angeli, benedicti Joanis Baptists et apostolorum Petri et Pauli et 
omnium sanctorum misereatur vestri omnipotens Deus et demissis om- 
nibus peccatis vestris perducat vos Jesu Christus ad vitam eternam. 
Amen. Indulgentiam, absolutionem et remissionem omnium pecca- 
torium vestrorum spatium verm et fructuosw pcenitentim, cor semper 
pwnitens et emendationem vita, gratiam et consolationem Spiritus Sancti 
et finalem perseverantiam in bonis operibus tribuat vobis omnipotens et 
miser icors Dominus. Amen. Et benedictio Dei omnipotentis, Pair is, 
et Filii, et Spiritus Sancti descendat super vos et maneat super vos. 
Amen. 

(" The holy Apostles Peter and Paul, on whose power and authority 
we depend, themselves intercede for you to the Lord. Amen. God 



Rome Fifty Years Ago — Passion Week. 

Almighty, through the prayers and merits of the blessed and perpetual 
Virgin Mary, of the blessed Archangel Michael, of the blessed John 
the Baptist, and of the Apostles Peter and Paul and of all the saints, 
have mercy upon you, and Jesus Christ forgive all your sins and lead 
you to eternal life. Amen. Almighty and merciful God grant unto 
you indulgence, absolution, and remission of all your sins, time of 
true and fruitful repentance, a heart always penitent and amendment 
of life, the grace and consolation of the Holy Spirit, and final persever- 
ance in good works. Amen. And the blessing of God Almighty, 
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit, descend upon you and remain with you. 
Amen.") 

At the last Amen there is a salute from St. Angelo and the bells of 
St. Peter's. At the word " benedictio" the pope rises and makes the 
sign of the cross three times. After the benediction, the formula of 
indulgence is read in Latin and Italiau, and two copies are thrown 
down into the Square of St. Peter's. 

The illumination of St. Peter's at dusk. This is really a magnifi- 
cent spectacle. Fourteen hundred lamps on the outer facade and 
cupola of the church and on the porticos around the square are 
lighted. In their soft, mild light the form of the noble building 
stands out in all its grandeur. Like a flaming rose from a magic 
land, spreading out its glowing petals into the blue sky, so appeared 
St. Peter's to us from Monte Pincio, where I went with Frau von 
Krocher, Heinrich and Herr Passavant to see it. The scene changed 
in a moment at the stroke of the clock, and the motionless lamps were 
full of glowing light and rays. The bride has celebrated her nuptials, 
the pale lily blushes with fire, and the sepulchral fac,ade burns with 
soul and blood. The building remains thus illuminated till midnight, 
when the lights gradually die down. Three hundred and sixty-five 
men are employed in the illumination, and the total number of lights 
is five thousand nine hundred and ninety-one. After we had seen 
the transformation from the Monte Pincio, I returned to St. Peter's 
by the Kipetta, where the press of people and carriages going to 
Monte Pincio was so great as nearly to crush us. 

Arrived at the square of St. Peter's, we found it nearly empty, and 
we enjoyed at our leisure the splendid spectacle. At close view it 
had a marvelous beauty, and made a more overwhelming impression 
than from Monte Pincio. This greatest of all churches, with its two 
arms stretched out around the Square of St. Peter's, the figures of 
the apostles and saints high upon the portico and on the top of the 
colonnades looking down through the magic illumination upon the 
lookers-on, and softly whispering the events of other years into 
their ears. And in the middle of the square rises dusky, but full of 
presentiment, the mighty obelisk, with its suggestion of Egypt's 
priestly wisdom, which is as the dark night over against the bright 
radiance of Christianity. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 

022 171 580 9 



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